A Georgia official planned to defraud the state by taking leave during multiple pregnancies. The ordeal started in October 2019, before COVID, and carried on through May 2021.
Her scheme unraveled when a coworker noticed her wearing a fake pregnancy costume.
When asked about the fake pregnancies, her friend said that she was “astounded” at the attempted fraud.
Additionally, there were two fake weddings in the works, going so far as shopping for a dress and finding a venue. The friend hasn’t talked to the con-woman since uncovering the ruse.
Turning this into a story, what if we follow the unraveling schemes as they fall apart?
The story starts with the woman announcing to the reader that she’s pregnant. Her first pregnancy, no less. We follow along as she prepares, informs her office, and gets ready for the baby’s arrival.
Out of nowhere, there’s no talk of a baby anymore. The readers are left to decide if she had a miscarriage or an abortion.
Her friends ask, but the woman deflects. The friends assume something traumatic happened and withdraw.
Then, a second baby. Again, the reader believes the narrator, following the second round of preparations. There are even wedding plans this time, suggesting there’s a man involved.
A man that the reader still doesn’t see.
The woman’s friends ask about the man and the baby, and the woman informs them about their wedding plans. But, she asks two women from separate friend groups to be her maid of honor and plans two weddings.
The reader assumes the woman has the best intentions the entire time.
Suddenly, we see her in HR, facing questions about her pregnancy suit. This is the first time the reader realizes she has made it all up. But, the woman doubles down, breaking down in tears at the questioning.
Her friend, who has two children and went through a second marriage after her first divorce, comes by to check on her and is met with anger at the door. Then, the friend starts asking too many questions, telling the woman that she knows the groom is made up.
Facing a threat to her fiction, the woman flies into a rage. Then, once she settles down, she decides her friend can’t continue living. What’s more, she’ll take her friend's place in the marriage and as the mother of two children.
From there, it turns into a thriller, with a final showdown at an abandoned building, where the police come and haul the con-woman away. The epilogue shows the friend entering the woman’s house, where she discovers all kinds of baby products in preparation for the child that never was, and a shrine dedicated to her.
The reader finds out that the entire book was made up, that the woman wanted to take over her friend’s life.
